Theoretical investigation of the electronic structure of Fe(II) complexes at spin-state transitions

The electronic structure relevant to low spin (LS)high spin (HS) transitions in Fe(II) coordination compounds with a FeN6 core are studied. The selected [Fe(tz)6]2+(1) (tz=1H-tetrazole), [Fe(bipy)3]2+(2) (bipy=2,2’-bipyridine) and [Fe(terpy)2]2+ (3) (terpy=2,2’:6’,2’’-terpyridine) complexes have been actively studied experimentally, and with their respective mono-, bi-, and tridentate ligands, they constitute a comprehensive set for theoretical case studies. The methods in this work include density functional theory (DFT), time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) and multiconfigurational second order perturbation theory (CASPT2). We determine the structural parameters as well as the energy splitting of the LS-HS states (ΔEHL) applying the above methods, and comparing their performance. We also determine the potential energy curves representing the ground and low-energy excited singlet, triplet, and quintet d6 states along the mode(s) that connect the LS and HS states. The results indicate that while DFT is well suited for the prediction of structural parameters, an accurate multiconfigurational approach is essential for the quantitative determination of ΔEHL. In addition, a good qualitative agreement is found between the TD-DFT and CASPT2 potential energy curves. Although the TD-DFT results might differ in some respect (in our case, we found a discrepancy at the triplet states), our results suggest that this approach, with due care, is very promising as an alternative for the very expensive CASPT2 method. Finally, the two dimensional (2D) potential energy surfaces above the plane spanned by the two relevant configuration coordinates in [Fe(terpy)2]2+ were computed both at the DFT and CASPT2 levels. These 2D surfaces indicate that the singlet-triplet and triplet-quintet states are separated along different coordinates, i.e. different vibration modes. Our results confirm that in contrast to the case of complexes with mono- and bidentate ligands, the singlet-quintet transitions in [Fe(terpy)2]2+ cannot be described using a single configuration coordinate

Redox Properties of a Rhenium Tetrazolato Complex in Room Temperature Ionic Liquids: Assessing the Applicability of the Stokes-Einstein Equation for a Metal Complex in Ionic Liquids

The redox properties of a rhenium-tetrazolato complex, namely fac-[Re(CO)3(phen)L] (where L is 5-(4'-cyanophenyl)tetrazolate), have been studied by cyclic voltammetry in a range of common room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) with different anions and cations. In all eight RTILs, one reduction and two oxidation peaks are observed. It is believed that the reduction peak corresponds to ligand reduction and the two oxidation peaks are two one-electron oxidations of the metal from Re(I) to Re(II) and Re(II) to Re(III). The redox potentials of the metal oxidations appear to be unchanged with the solvent; however, the potential for the reduction peak is more negative in RTILs containing the[P14,6,6,6]+ cation, suggesting a stabilization effect of the electrogenerated intermediate with the other RTIL cations studied (imidazolium and pyrrolidinium). Potential step chronoamperometric experiments were used to calculate diffusion coefficients of the complex in RTILs, and it was found that fac-[Re(CO)3(phen)L] diffuses very slowly through the RTIL medium. A plot of diffusion coefficient against the inverse of viscosity of the RTIL solvent showed a linear trend, suggesting that the Stokes-Einstein relationship generally applies for this complex in RTILs, but the coefficient on the denominator is likely to be closer to 4 (the “slip” limit) than 6 (the “stick” limit) when taking into account the hydrodynamic radius